Personnel Board members Lorenzo Howard and Diane Thomas proposed one to the City Council during a work session Monday night. It contains 22 pay grades with salary ranges and job classifications.

"We have a pay system, which is not very structured," said Howard, who chairs the Personnel Board. "My brief explanation for that is we really don’t have a pay system."

As a result, he said, "We have some significant pay disparities."

A study conducted by Evergreen Solutions strongly recommended creating a formal pay plan. Under the proposal, 70 of the 373 people employed by Fairhope as of January of this year would need raises to be brought up to the pay grade minimum for their jobs, at a cost of between $63,000 and $64,000, according to the study.

Some employees said they don’t even know their own job titles or duties, and "simply do what they are told on any given day," the study said.

No current employee would face a pay cut because he or she makes more than the new play plan specifies.

Under the pay plan, minimum and maximum salaries could still vary widely, depending on experience. The minimum pay for a gardener II, for example, would be set at $27,822 but could go as high as $44,516.

The lowest pay grade, 10, would pay between $15,600 and $24,960 for positions such as fitness floor attendant, front desk assistant, golf cart attendant and nursery attendant. On the upper end, Grade 32, the city administrator would make between $76,579 and $122,527.

Council members said they would not act on the plan for a few weeks, to ensure that all employees could see it and understand the changes.

"The city is growing, times are changing and we need a plan," Councilman Dan Stankoski said. "We need to ensure that every city employee, from the lowest (paid) to the highest, knows what this is."